Opinion: Larmier County should be proud of 2018 primary election process

The primary election was held on June 26; however, the administrative processes required to finalize the event take some time. On July 12 the primary election in Larimer County was competed and certified to the state — nearly six days ahead of the statutory deadline. We have much to be proud of.

As the Washington Post recently stated, Colorado is the “safest state to cast a vote.” I and the Larimer Elections Team are proud to have been active participants in bringing these improvements to fruition and to ensuring the integrity of our local elections, without exception.

A dozen or so elections staff members in our office ensure that all election laws and rules are followed to the letter. This year, we had the added challenge of creating clear instructions and new processes for properly handling unaffiliated electors voting in the primary election for the first time. We are all proud that this work paid off. Our rejection rate caused by unaffiliated voters who returned more than one voted ballot was 1.7 percent, compared to the statewide average of 2.4 percent.

It’s important to remember, however, that the election is actually conducted by citizen election judges — people like you. In Larimer County, all processes are conducted in bi-partisan teams — no single party or single person ever works alone, raising our integrity bar exponentially and significantly enhancing security.

I am comfortable saying that Larimer County has the finest elections staff and the finest group of citizen election judges in the country. Few citizens realize the complexity, care and detail, check and cross-check that is part and parcel of administering an election. Election judges are “salt of the earth” people who devote themselves to this work in a way that is awe-inspiring to watch. They put their party politics on the shelf for the greater good — each devoted to ensuring your vote is secure and is cast exactly as you intended it to be, no matter your political persuasion.

These are the people you see at the grocery store and who live in your neighborhoods. They receive a small amount of training that focuses them on very specific tasks — and failure is not an option. They often work long hours and sometimes spend a lot of time in “hurry up and wait” mode, but they must work at the top of their game — always. And they do.

If you know someone who has been an election judge, thank them for their service. Ask them what they think about our processes here in Larimer. Let them inspire you to serve as an election judge yourself. You will walk away with good feelings about the security of your vote, you will know the care we take to ensure it is counted as you intended, and you will realize that every vote matters.